Surprisingly, at 520 calories per serving, a Big Mac breakfast falls within the recommended calorie intake for men and is just slightly over the recommended amount for women.

“According to the latest research, we should all be aiming to consume around 15-25 per cent of our energy requirements for breakfast,” Nutrionist Lyndi Cohen from blog The Nude Nutritionist, told Yahoo7.

“For women this works out to be 300-500 calories and 375-625 calories for men.

“Assuming you don’t eat or drink anything else, the Big Mac provides adequate calories for men and only slightly too many for women.”

From today, McDonald’s is serving Big Mac burgers for breakfast and experts are split on the prospect of burgers as the first meal of the day. Source: Getty

But as a regular breakfast item?

While the Big Mac is acceptable as a ‘sometimes’ food, Ms Cohen warns that the burger should not be eaten as a regular breakfast meal.

“If you’re looking for a natural, preservative free option for breakfast, the Big Mac is not a good choice,” Ms Cohen said.

“The major concern with the Big Mac is that it provides almost half the amount of saturated fat we are meant to have each day,”

“Consuming too much saturated fat has been associated with an increased risk of heart disease, which is the leading cause of death in Australia – and the world,” she said.

Another nutritionist says she is horrified by the prospect of the Big Mac as a breakfast meal, let alone occasional treat.

“If someone ate a Big Mac for breakfast on a regular basis, not even taking into consideration the calorie count, it would severely affect their health as they would not be getting in the required nutrients needed for a good, wholesome breakfast,” Victoria Malouf, Nutritionist at the Nutritional Trainer in Bondi, Sydney said.

The Bacon & Egg McMuffin is marginally healthier than the Big Mac as a breakfast option, according to nutritionists. Source: Supplied

High in sugar and preservatives

“If you just look at some of the ingredients on the ingredient list, the Big Mac bun contains sugar as the third ingredient, with also things such as fermented Acidity Regulator (270), Acidity Regulator (260)), Emulsifier (471) and Preservative (282),” Ms Malouf said.

“It does not contain many wholefood ingredients,”

“It is continually eating foods like this on a regular basis that can cause major health problems and diseases such as fatty, liver, diabetes and heart disease due to all the excess sugar and preservatives that are being consumed,” she said.